Saturday, May 16, 2015

One of my best friends has been a lifelong learner, taking tons
of classes through the years on a variety of subjects ever since we met in
college. If you put them all together she could probably have degrees in at
least six subjects, but that hasn’t been her priority. I love that about her
and respect it tremendously. Meanwhile, I always felt wildly different about
education. I was all about getting in and out of college in four years flat –
get my degree and I’m outta there. (Purely coincidentally, the class of 2015
graduated today from my alma mater, UNH – congrats fellow Wildcats!)

But ever since I’ve really focused in on my art making career,
I’ve been open to the idea of re-educating myself on my own terms (which
basically translates to free and when I feel like it). Fortunately, there’s no
lack of free resources online – from podcasts to Ted Talks and more – wonderful
insights from the minds and experiences of successful artists, business owners
and self help enthusiasts. Topics explored include, but are not limited to…

How to manifest your greatest dreams.

How to figure out what those dreams are in the first place.

How so-and-so became a successful artist.

How to best market your art.

Since I came to this conclusion that I need to embrace education as part of my journey towards the career of my hopes and
dreams, I’ve been almost manic in my consumption. I thought since my audience
tends to be other artists, I’d share a little of what I’m learning here on my
blog. I have to say though, if you aren’t an artist by trade, this information
tends to apply across the board in all matters of life, so read on – I think
you’ll dig this stuff too.

Pause for an art break…

My latest custom painting commission

Reflections 2, Acrylic on 40" x 40" canvas

The first thing I’d like to talk about is this idea of GOING
OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE.

It’s something I’m getting from almost any and all of these
interviews and discussions, “You have to go outside your comfort zone.”

Full disclosure: Any time I’ve ever heard that in the past,
my gut reaction has always been as follows…

No.

I don't want to. I’m an adult, and therefore I don’t have to do anything I
don’t want to do.

The end.

What, am I supposed to jump out of a plane to gain a deeper
appreciation for life? Please. No way, not in a million years. I like comfort. I like
knowing what makes me comfortable and I like remaining comfortable. (I’m also a
Taurus, that’s sort of our "thing".) Besides, life throws enough curve balls all on
its own to actually want to seek out more things/situations/experiences to
unsettle me. Why would I do that? It just never made any sense to me.

But I think I was missing one key point to all of this.

FIRST you must figure out what you really, really want and
THEN you must be willing to go out of your comfort zone to attain whatever that
is. It isn’t about nonsensical risk taking - duh! (Why did I think it was?) No one will be waiting for me with
a million dollars on land if I jump out of a plane (PS even then I wouldn’t do
it). It’s about being very aware of what it is that you want and then open
minded about the path of achieving and actualizing your dreams and goals, not
letting any fears stand in your way or limit how far you can go.

So, in the business of making and selling art, maybe this
means “putting yourself out there” on social media platforms or making
connections with local galleries, or maybe it's getting started on a big (albeit intimidating)
concept/project/series. In general life terms, it can mean opening
yourself up to failure if you try something new, facing some of your biggest
fears and doubts on the road to love, or challenging your ability to
communicate in order to strengthen an existing relationship.

It just never clicked until recently, but now I get it, and
in a way, it’s almost scarier than the concept of jumping out of a plane
because these particular challenges are now unavoidable and necessary if I want
to achieve my goals. But what better encouragement is there to do them than a.
to prove to yourself that you can do anything you set your mind to, even stuff
that scares you and b. to get yourself closer to living the life you’ve always
wanted to live! In one of the many Ted Talks I listened to the other day,
someone said this line that I had to write down so I’d remember it…

Success is the freedom to do whatever you want to do.

That may sound like pure hopeful rubbish, but let me tell you, after
listening to one successful person after another, it is absolutely true and
possible.

The trick, if there is one, is simple. You have to be
willing to work extremely hard and take risks boldly and with conviction, and
that includes going out of your comfort zone. And that’s a challenge my comfort
loving self is willing to take... firmly on land, thank you very much.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite educators thus far…

Lisa Congdon - She's everywhere right now... for good reason. Check her out.

Friday, May 01, 2015

Spring has truly arrived here in New England, and I can't think of a more inspiring time of year to embrace change and transition, and feel the surging power of creative energy and motivation.

Every day, something new blooms or rapidly evolves from early bud to blossom. It's really quite spectacular and awe inspiring if you think about it. Life GROWS on.

In the studio, I'm already mentally launched into summer and I've "arrived" at my favorite place to be - the beach! I created this triptych of three 18" x 24" canvases that I titled (thanks to my aunt's suggestion!) "Timeless Ocean".

I've been enjoying using metallic paint (gold, silver, copper) to recreate the shimmer of sunlight on ocean water. It's a lot of fun to work with, and one thing I've discovered is that it's best to go back and forth between seeing the sheen and not seeing the sheen. (If someone were to catch me in the studio they'd be perplexed by me constantly bobbing my head around as I work!)

When you see a piece with the reflection really shining, that layer pops in an almost 3D way to the eye. It's important that those lines or shapes, or however you are using it, make sense from a complete compositional perspective.

I so enjoyed painting this, I'd love to paint a dozen more. In fact, I have another triptych in the works in a bit of a different palette and I'm eager to get back out to work on it right now! I'm really trying to live in the moment, and it's working beautifully (*much easier to do with gorgeous weather and flowers!). But I'll be honest, a part of me is like...